Iola receives settlement from herbicide lawsuit

The east-central Kansas town of Iola has received a nearly $200,000 settlement from a manufacturer of the herbicide atrazine.

Associated Press

The east-central Kansas town of Iola has received a nearly $200,000 settlement from a manufacturer of the herbicide atrazine.

The Iola Register (http://bit.ly/10vnlMf ) reports that a class-action lawsuit was brought by water treatment plants against agriculture chemical company Syngenta Crop Protection. Iola is sharing in a $105 million settlement.

Iola water and wastewater superintendent Toby Ross insists that the city's water is safe.

Legally, the amount of the herbicide in the water must be lower than three parts per billion. In Iola, the water coming through the plant averaged .11 parts per billion.

The nearby city of Humboldt is receiving $73,000 from the settlement. The last reported amount of atrazine in Humboldt's water supply was .46 parts per billion. That's also well below the legal limit.